1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a basket lift apparatus capable of enhancing a user's convenience by lifting a basket installed at a lower portion of a body when the basket is drawn out of a lower cooling chamber.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator in accordance with the conventional art, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a refrigerator showing a state that a basket is accommodated in a body.
The conventional refrigerator comprises: a body 102 having an opened front side and an accommodation space; an upper cooling chamber 106 arranged at an upper side of the body 102 and having a pair of upper doors 104 opened to both sides, for storing food; and a lower cooling chamber 112 arranged at a lower side of the body 102, separated from the upper cooling chamber 106 by a partition wall 108, and having a lower door 110 opened in a slidable manner.
A mechanical chamber 116 having a compressor 114 for generating cold air to be supplied to the upper cooling chamber 106 and the lower cooling chamber 112, etc. is installed at a rear side of the body 102.
A basket 120 for accommodating freezing items is arranged at the lower cooling chamber 112 to be slidable back and forth, and the lower door 110 is fixed at a front side of the basket 120. According to this, when the lower door 110 is pulled, the basket 120 is opened, and when the lower door 110 is pushed, the basket 120 is closed. A guide rail 124 is installed between an inner side surface of the basket 120 and an inner side surface of the lower cooling chamber 112, thereby guiding the basket 120 to be slidable back and forth.
A plurality of drawers for storing food are installed at an upper side of the basket 120 to be opened in a slidable manner.
In the conventional refrigerator, when a user forwardly pulls the lower door 110 in order to take out the food stored in the lower cooling chamber 112 or in order to accommodate food in the lower cooling chamber 112, the basket 120 is opened with a slide motion. Also, when the user backwardly pushes the lower door 110 after taking out the food stored in the basket 120 or accommodating food in the basket 120, the basket 120 is closed with a slide motion.
However, in the conventional refrigerator, since the basket is arranged at a lower portion of the refrigerator, the user has to bend his or her waist or has to crouch in order to take out the food stored in the basket or to accommodate food in the basket thereby to have inconvenience in using the basket.